


Right Where You Left Us

by JasnNCarly



Series: Carly and Her Catches [18]
Category: General Hospital
Genre: F/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-25
Updated: 2012-05-25
Packaged: 2020-06-03 03:00:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19454938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JasnNCarly/pseuds/JasnNCarly
Summary: Carly gets a reminder of how special Shawn is to her.





	Right Where You Left Us

“You mad?”  
  
Shawn continued to work in the back, moving as though nothing had changed the whole time he had been gone, “About what, TJ?”  
  
He pushed his lips into a pout before sucking his teeth to ramble, “Well, they gave us the wrong seats on the plane. You have eaten for almost twelve hours. And, oh yeah, I haven’t seen Carly once since we’ve landed.”  
  
It was true, the one person he had missed the most was still absent – clearly still stung by his desire to put so much distance between them; his decision that friendship was not enough had left an open wound where her presence had resided.  
  
“It’s okay to say you missed her, man. It’s not like I don’t know you’re all sprung over her, even after you found out she’s with—” TJ trailed off the moment Shawn’s glare warned him to back down, “Never mind, it’s your business. Pretend I’m not even here.”  
  
Shawn went back to working Kelly’s without skipping a beat, trying to get his mind to focus on anything other than the blonde who occupied his mind during most of his free time.  
  
~*~  
  
Carly signaled for the florist to wait before taking the flowers out of the vase and dumping them into the nearest trash can; dropping her phone into the leafy water, she slid the vase towards the delivery boy and pulled out a large bill, “Please make sure Zacchara gets this gift within the hour.”  
  
Without a second thought, he took the money and grabbed the offering, “Will do.”   
  
She filled her lungs to capacity before blowing out the same breath and grabbing her paperwork; heading towards the elevator, Carly shut her eyes and prayed for clarity – for peace of mind.  
  
“Mrs. Jacks?”   
  
The sound of a familiar voice caused her to whip around with a small frown, “TJ! You’re back in town?”  
  
“Yeah, mom was kind of 'over' my visit back home.” Shoving his hands into his pockets, he gestured towards the opening doors of the elevator, “You got a minute?”  
  
“Um,” she ignored the elevator, taking a few steps away, “sure, what’s on your mind?”  
  
“You.” His bold answer caused an amused smile to spread on her lips as he stumbled on his speech, “Not like that, I mean—look, I was talking to Molly, and half the time I think she’s learned everything from the _Twilight_ series. Other times, I think she has this way of seeing things no one else does. You and Shawn, I think you might be one of those things.”  
  
Carly sighed, her heart tightening at the sound of his name, “TJ—”  
  
“Do me a favor, okay? Just—stop thinking of me as a kid for five minutes and listen.” He waited for her to pinch her lips together, crossing her arms, to signal he had her full attention, “The whole time we were gone, I didn’t see him look at one woman – one person the way I see him look at you. I know he’s not as dangerous as somebody like Johnny Zacchara, but he can kick a lot of ass, if he wants to.”  
  
“Oh, trust me, I know Shawn is not like Johnny and that is far from the worst thing in my book.”   
  
“Then what? Why can’t you just see that he’s a good guy? He’s had your back through a lot of crazy sh—” TJ stopped short, reminding himself of who he was addressing, and softened his tone, “I doubted him too. I thought, after what happened, he was just some robot – only follows order without any heart, but you know what? That’s all he is – heart. How else would you explain taking in a kid like me?”  
  
Carly ignored the mist clouding her vision or the reserve the young man might have, releasing a soft and humble laugh, “…you’re right.”  
  
~*~  
  
“I’m sorry, but you’re about five minutes late.” The words had left his mouth without one glance towards the door, locking up the register, “We’re closed.”  
  
“Really? ‘Cause I could really use a bowl of your world famous chili.”  
  
Shawn froze as the sound of her voice caused his blood to run cold as his heart began to pound; the confrontation had to happen – especially if he hoped to have her in his life at all.   
  
With a small smile over his shoulder, he responded quiet, “Coming right up.” Shawn headed towards the back, filling a small bowl as his mind backtracked through the day.  
  
_“She’s not with Johnny. She caught him in bed with Kate of all people and, while I may not like to admit when I’m wrong, my mom could really use a guy like you watching her back again.”_  
  
The sit down with Michael earlier in the day had been extremely uncomfortable for both of them; yet the sight of Carly assured him his toughest conversation since his return was just seconds away.  
  
Shawn returned to the counter with her order, watching as she adjusted uncomfortably in her seat; a grin finally emerged at the sight of her avoidant eyes – some sign that things never changed with her, “What can I get you to drink?”  
  
She began to push her spoon around the red pool, her blue eyes peeking through her bangs, “A glass of milk would be nice.”  
  
Giving a firm nod, he did as requested and set a tall glass beside her bowl, “I gotta finish closing up.”  
  
“You mean you’re not gonna share a drink with me?” Carly’s request, just as he was about to busy himself in the back, caused him to stop and lightly pound his fist on the counter’s edge.  
  
Grabbing a glass of milk, he returned to her and held up his glass, “To never being someone’s second choice.”  
  
Carly clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, holding up her glass, “To never pushing away the ones closest to us.”  
  
After a moment, Shawn touched his glass to hers, “Agreed.”


End file.
